What Is The Point?

From the Las Vegas Sun: The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Robert L. Bellon, who sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a Las Vegas man in October 1995.
Bellon claimed his trial attorney was ineffective for failing to argue that Bellon had acted in self defense in the killing of Frankie Dunlap, who was shot twice while in a car.
The Supreme Court overturned the first-degree murder conviction of Bellon once on ground that improper evidence was admitted that he had made threats to police when he was arrested. But Bellon was convicted again of first-degree murder after a second trial. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/apr/12/court-rejects-las-vegas-killers-appeal/
So, this thug has not been put down after 17 years of waiting on death row?  What is the point of having a death penalty if the State is afraid to use it?  It makes a mockery of the death penalty and it insults the victim's family.
So, either execute those thugs who have been on death row for decades or give them life in prison without parole.  But stop wasting the court's time and hurting the victim's family by going through these totally useless appeals.